Her Tears (Dedicated To Haitan Earthquake Victims) Poem by Shemaine English

Grief-stricken
mothers,
broken families,
lost children
cry out
to the
heavy wind,

haunting
the damaged
earth,
with
their
fragile
footsteps.

We, here
in the
so-called
'land of plenty'

are strangers
to them.

Seperated
by miles
and
circumstance.

Yet,
still
somehow,
our
emotions
draw us
closer
to them.

as a
bridge

between
our
intangible
distance.

Faces,
we
have
never
seen before
call out
to
us
for help.

We do
not
dismiss
them,
or turn away.

Hands we
do not
know,
reach out
to us,
and
pull
us
closer.

We do
not push
them away.

Or tell
them
that
they
should stay
away from
us.

Instead,
we stretch
our arms
out wide,
and embrace
them
knowing
they
are
the same
as
we are.